All proceeds go to MRFF<\/em> for the express purpose<\/span> of supporting the troops. (emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.christianfighterpilot.com\/images\/mrffbowl.jpg\" "\\"MRFF")
<\/p>\n
Like Jolt<\/em>, the MRFF is not an organization whose \u201cexpress purpose\u201d is to \u201csupport the troops\u201d in the traditionally understood way.\u00a0 For example, nowhere on its website does the MRFF say that it provides support for the troops in any material or immaterial way.\u00a0The advertisements for the fundraiser also failed to specify for what<\/em> “express purpose”\u00a0the donations would used to “support the troops.”<\/p>\nThere\u2019s nothing wrong with raising funds for the troops, of course.\u00a0 Any organization of any purpose is free to raise funds to provide support for American servicemembers.\u00a0 However,\u00a0as noted above, it is reasonable to expect that they will say how<\/em> they are going to support the troops\u2014so that it is clear the funds are for the troops<\/em>, and not merely padding the organization\u2019s coffers.<\/p>\nSince the MRFF failed to publicly say for what purpose they would use donations, they were asked what they were going to do to “support the troops.”\u00a0 They sent a defensive and somewhat unclear reply:<\/p>\n
MRFF’s mission of protecting the troops from coercive evangelizing and proselytizing is as much an effort to “support the troops” as the Evangelicals and proselytizers say their mission is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It would seem, then, that the MRFF isn\u2019t planning to do anything unique to “support the troops,” such as send care packages or buy phone cards, etc., as other organizations that raise funds to “support the troops” do.\u00a0 Instead, the funds will simply be used to further the MRFF\u2019s day-to-day efforts.\u00a0\u00a0The most public face of the MRFF is its lawsuits against the military.\u00a0 Thus, the “Support\u00a0Our Troops Bowl-a-Thon” appears to be aimed at raising funds to support the MRFF’s legal actions against the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n
The MRFF\u2019s connection between the common phrase “support our troops” and its mission of litigation is somewhat\u00a0unusual.\u00a0 Few people probably expect that the self-described “agitation and litigation” organization “supports the troops” in any stereotypical way.\u00a0 This makes it vulnerable to the accusation that it is misusing an emotional appeal for “the troops” as a vehicle for fundraising.<\/p>\n
Had it chosen to do so, it could easily have eliminated any misperception by saying<\/p>\n
“Support our Troops: Contribute to our legal efforts against religious coercion in the military”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
or anything that indicated the funds they were requesting would support their litigation<\/em>, not provide material support for American servicemembers.<\/p>\nNon-profit organizations\u00a0do have\u00a0legal obligations not to misrepresent\u00a0their objectives under state laws.\u00a0 However, there does not appear to be a legal requirement that they\u00a0explicitly state what they\u00a0intend to do with the donations they\u00a0receive.\u00a0 Discovering their purpose is left to the discerning\u00a0judgment of the individual contributor.<\/p>\n
Notably, despite its constant cries for financing, the MRFF is hardly strapped for cash.\u00a0 It has raised six figure sums every year, including\u00a0more than $500,000 in 2007.\u00a0\u00a0It\u00a0paid its President, Michael Weinstein, 45% of its income in 2006.\u00a0 It is also worth noting that\u00a0by some measures of Charity Navigator’s\u00a0publicly listed\u00a0ratings system,\u00a0the MRFF would be ranked in the bottom 10% of non-profits, earning zero stars due to inefficiency with its donations.\u00a0 (Charity Navigator has not reviewed the MRFF.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you received a flyer that said \u201csend money to support the troops,\u201d for what would you expect the money to be used? A quick web search reveals that the phrase is generally used by those who have a history of material military support (like the USO).\u00a0 When other groups use the phrase\u00a0“support our troops” for fundraising, they generally give […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4,5218,7,45],"class_list":["post-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","tag-churchandstate","tag-military-religious-freedom-foundation","tag-mrff","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.christianfighterpilot.com\/images\/jolt.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n